Scheme must include everyone who spent time in Mother and Baby Institutions
As the payment scheme for survivors of the mother and baby institutions opens today (see the Scheme’s homepage here), the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission welcomed the Scheme, but reiterated a number of recommendations that would improve the compliance of the Act with recognised human rights and equality standards.
IHREC again recommended the removal of the six-month stay requirement to ensure that all children – including children who were adopted, boarded out and fostered – who were resident in a relevant institution are eligible to apply to the Scheme. The 180 day period is not an indicator of whether a child suffered harm, such as from the forced separation of mother and child. Similarly, the Scheme provides that a person must have been resident for 180 days to be entitled to a health support payment or eligible for the provision of health services without charge. We see no rational connection between the potential harm suffered and the length of stay requirement, and therefore believe that all persons who were resident in an institution for any length of time should be eligible for a health support payment or health services without charge. In addition, IHREC again recommended that rule excluding mothers who were resident for less than six months from access to the enhanced medical card be removed.
Further, we have called for reparations to not be limited to those resident in institutions which were investigated by the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes, and for consultation with survivors on the list of institutions to be included under the Payment Scheme. The list of institutions in the Act is based on the list of institutions investigated by the Commission of Investigation. The Commission of Investigation’s report was limited in terms of the institutions which were investigated and the Scheme cannot be bound by the significant limitations of the Commission of Investigation’s findings and recommendations.
IHREC has also criticised the eligibility criteria for a work-related payment, which says that a person is only eligible for a work-related payment if they were resident in a relevant institution, and were resident for more than 90 days. Given the nature of these institutions, the work undertaken by the women has to be regarded as compulsory as they could not derive the benefit from their work. We recommend that all people who were resident in a relevant institution and who undertook work without pay should be eligible for a work-related payment regardless of the institution they were resident in, the nature of the work, or length of stay.
Deirdre Malone, Director of IHREC said,
“While we welcome the Scheme, we are gravely concerned that some people who were resident in Mother and Baby Institutions or who were boarded out are arbitrarily excluded from redress. The Scheme must be amended so that all arbitrary criteria, such as the 180 day eligibility rule, does not exclude victims and survivors of relevant institutions from redress.”
ENDS/
For further information, please contact:
Sarah Clarkin IHREC Communications Manager,
01 8592641 / 087 4687760
sarah.clarkin@ihrec.ie
Follow us on twitter @_IHREC
Further Information
You can read our letters to Minister O’Gorman on the Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme Bill, by following these links;
You can read our letter to the Chair of the Joint Committee on Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth on our observations on the Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme Bill 2022, by following this link;
Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission
The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission is an independent public body, appointed by the President and directly accountable to the Oireachtas. The Commission has a statutory remit set out under the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission Act (2014) to protect and promote human rights and equality in Ireland, and build a culture of respect for human rights, equality and intercultural understanding in the State.
The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission is Ireland’s national human rights institution and is recognised as such by the United Nations. The Commission is also Ireland’s national equality body for the purpose of a range of EU anti-discrimination measures.